While pickup truck vehicles enjoy wide popularity for both personal transportation and load carrying capabilities the design of a pickup truck cab limits storage area therein. Due to the utilitarian nature of such vehicles the owners often desire to carry or store a wide variety of equipment within the truck cab, and as the only available storage space within the cab is the limited space behind the seat, this rear cab area usually becomes littered and disarrayed due to the many articles stored on the cab floor behind the seat.
Also, pickup trucks are widely used during hunting trips, and the owners thereof often desire to transport shotguns or rifles. To store a long gun behind the cab seat is undesirable due to possible damage thereto, and even when the firearm is cased the owner usually desires not to lay the firearm on the cab floor behind the seat because of the disarray and possible damage that may result therefrom. Also, most states require that firearms be encased during transport, and owners prefer that the presence of the firearm be not readily discernible to the casual observer in view of the possibility of theft.
It is an object of the invention to provide a truck storage accessory which is readily mounted within the cab of a truck behind the seat utilizing heretofore unused space wherein the accessory includes storage pockets readily accessible to a seated operator or passenger.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a truck storage accessory which is of economical manufacture, easy to install, and utilizes a long gun firearm storage pocket wherein the firearm may be safely encased for transport, its presence is not readily discerned by looking into the vehicle cab, and access to the firearm is readily achieved because of the flexible nature of the accessory.
The truck storage accessory in accord with the invention comprises a flexible panel of rectangular configuration having upper, lower and end edges. The panel is formed of outer and inner layers of flexible material, preferably vinyl having a reinforced backing, and the layers are sewn together, and bound, at preselected locations to define a plurality of vertically extending pockets having access openings adjacent the panel upper edge.
The location and configuration of the vertical pockets is such that a horizontally disposed elongated firearm carrying pocket is defined in the panel adjacent the lower edge, and an access opening for the firearm receiving pocket is located within an end edge of the panel adjacent the lower edge. Closure means are associated with this access opening whereby a firearm received within the pocket may be sealed therein.
The panel is mounted to the vehicle at its upper edge by fasteners attached to the vehicle cab rear wall structure. By attaching the panel solely at its upper edge it is suspended from this edge and the lower region of the panel may be flexed permitting the gun pocket access opening to easily be positioned for receiving a firearm even though the access opening between the truck cab door and seat is limited.
The panel layer's material includes an attractive surface, and as the firearm receiving pocket is located well below the upper region of the vehicle seat the lower region of the panel is not readily visible, and the presence of a firearm within the lower panel pocket is not easily discerned.